Switzerland booked their place in the World Cup quarter-finals after edging Colombia in a nerve-shredding penalty shoot-out in Vancouver on Tuesday.
Colombia had carried the greater threat for long spells, with James Rodriguez and Juan Quintero both delivering dangerous balls into the Swiss area, while Gustavo Puerta and Jaminton Campaz forced awkward saves from Gregor Kobel.
The clearest chance arrived in extra time, when Jhon Lucumi rose to meet Quintero’s corner from close range, only to crash his header against the crossbar.
Switzerland, disciplined but rarely fluent, had their moments through Fabian Rieder, Granit Xhaka and Dan Ndoye, though Camilo Vargas was largely equal to what came his way. As the minutes ticked by, both sides looked increasingly short of inspiration in the final third, and penalties began to feel inevitable.
In the shoot-out, Quintero, Campaz and Luis Diaz scored for Colombia, but misses from Davinson Sanchez and Cucho Hernandez proved costly.
Switzerland survived Manuel Akanji’s wild effort over the bar before Cedric Itten and Ruben Vargas held their nerve, with the latter burying the decisive kick to send the Swiss into the last eight.
It was not a classic, but Switzerland will not care. After 120 goalless minutes and a shoot-out loaded with pressure, they are quarter-finalists and will now face Argentina.
